Mobile Lab Egypt
Heritage is a lived reality. Sites of historical value aren't merely rundown buildings to be reconstructed architecturally or shiny monuments that are stuck in the past. Heritage is constantly being shaped and reshaped by the community inhabiting it, and as such it is vital to connect communities to their heritage as a fundament to creating stronger and more resilient societies.
To achieve this, the focus falls on improving what is already built and on growing the assets that communities already have within a sustainable framework of participation, social justice, and non-extraction.
Our Mobile Lab in Egypt took us to Cairo, where architect, heritage conservationist, and 2022 Impact Awardee, May al-Ibrashy, and the organization, Megawra—Built Environment Collective, co-curated a dynamic programme together with the Prince Claus Fund: a symposium on the built environment in the context of Africa, visits to cultural sites in Cairo, an exhibition, and days of workshops and lectures at Tahrir Cultural Centre with cultural practitioners from different disciplines.
Joining the Mobile Lab as a co-curator were 2022 Building Beyond Mentorship Awardee Salma Belal, and as participants: 2022 Seed Awardees Christian Sleiman, DORMANTYOUTH, Raghad Saqfalhait, and 2021 Seed and 2021 Seed and 2022 Mentorship Awardee Rania Atef. The Lab also featured mentors of the Prince Claus Mentorship Building Beyond: architect, anthropologist, entrepreneur, Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou; cultural practitioner, curator, Hicham Bouzid; artist, architect, Ola Hassanain; graphic designer, artist, educator, and 2016 Prince Claus Laureate, Bahia Shehab; architect, urbanist, and chair of the 2019 Prince Claus Awards, Manuel de Rivero; graphic designer and long-time partner of the Fund, Irma Boom, and others.
